Dymos VIII UPDATED
by ODST 357
Summary: A Sniper on Dymos VIII runs into a Covenant ambush. A quick little story, around 750 words. I fixed some of the grammer and spaced out the talking in the beginning. No real plot elements have been changed however.


The sun beat down on the red dunes of Dymos VIII. A line of Warthogs drove across the dusty landscape. In the rear 'Hog, Sergeant Daniel Richter gripped his sniper rifle and stared through the scope, trying to ignore the jolting of the warthog as it rolled along the desert on a combat patrol mission. He was so bored. The Lieutenant had them running these stupid patrols three times a day at least, looking for an imaginary base the Covies supposedly had. The driver wasn't much of a talker, but their gunner more than made up for that.

"Hey Sarge, where ya from?"

He sighed, and told the young soldier embracing the chaingun about his home planet.

"I'm from REACH. My father was a Colonel, and he worked at FleetCom HQ. He always expected me to join the Marines, and the war just drove that point in. So, I signed up when I was seventeen. I've been out here for three years. Where are you from Private?" The driver grinned behind his mirrored sunglasses, knowing the new guy was about to be chewed out for bothering Richter.

"Well sir, I grew up on Earth. My dad owns a bank in New York, and he served with the UNSC during the crisis with the rebel colonies. So I guess I wanted to be like him." Richter was about to ask why a rich kid with connections ended up out here, when a blue bolt streaked through the air and hit the kid square in the back. He fell from the chaingun's arms and was ground into hamburger by the all terrain tires of the Warthog.

"CONTACT!!!" Richter yelled. The driver spun the 'Hog around to face the threat, and leaped toward the chaingun. A plasma bolt caught him across the shoulder in mid-air.

Richter tuck-rolled out of the side seat, and ducked behind the 'Hog, bringing his sniper rifle to bear. He scanned the surrounding cliffs, and spotted a Jackal sniper. Thunder boomed through the canyon, and the Jackal's brain's sprayed across the cliff wall. By now the two other Warthogs and their Scorpion escort had converged on his position, and they had set up a semicircle of cover for the Marines to fire from behind. The Scorpion raked the cliff with its machine gun, and blasted bits of rock off with its cannon.

Richter scanned the cliff through his scope, and spotted an Elite next to a communication device. He blew the Elite to Hades, but not before it had slammed its fist down on a button on the device's panel. Five minutes later, a squadron of Banshees flew over the horizon in a V formation. The Scorpion let loose with its guns, and the one rocket launcher guy they had fired a few volleys, but it wasn't enough to keep three fuel rod blasts from turning the warthogs and the marines manning the chainguns into piles of superheated slag. The banshees retreated after this, and Richter thought it was over.

He was wrong. The 'Shees had just been clearing the way for a flight of Covenant dropships. He watched in horror as the strangely shaped craft disgorged waves of Grunts, Jackals, Elites, and even a Hunter team. The Scorpion was swiftly relieved of its turret, and the few marines that were left were cut down mercilessly by an overwhelming volley of plasma fire. Blood stained the ground around him as Richter fired his rifle with the efficiency of a machine. But he was quickly running out of ammo, and there were just too many of them.

A Grunt rushed up with a glowing plasma pistol; that was never good, Richter thought absently. The little beast shot an overcharged shot of liquid fire at Richter's chest. It ate through the Marines flak jacket, and propelled him against the smoking tank chassis.

Blood flowed freely from his chest, but Richter reached into his web vest and pulled the pin off of one more surprise. He rolled the grenade towards a pack of overcurious grunts, and was rewarded with a surprised barking sound as they saw the sphere of death. He leaned against the tank treads, and sighed, letting death overcome him at last. His last conscious sight was his dad leaning over him, smiling. His dad, who'd died when FleetCom was bombed to hell when the Covenant took REACH, was proud of him. He let go, and darkness flooded his entire being.

**End**


End file.
